food

Thanksgiving Recap

9:35 PM



Thanksgiving was amazing. My mama threw down and the bread, cake and homemade cranberry sauce I made was a hit.  I kept the table simple by pulling some magnolia leaves off of our tree and just placing it on the table. Here is a pictorial recap. Oh yeah.


My mom's friend made a four layer caramel cake. If you are in the South or from the South, you know that these are HARD to come by. Not many people make them since the caramel is soooo tricky. Caramel cake is completely homemade. There is no box cake mix used and no caramel wrapped candies used in the icing. It is one of the most perfect cakes EVER. This is one cake that I am determined to learn how to make next year. It is also one of my top three favorite cakes ever.







My mom spent two days smoking and grilling. She made pulled pork, ribs, chicken breasts, and leg quarters. I was in heaven. And nothing, NOTHING beats her southern cornbread dressing. It is creamy and if golden could be a taste, it would taste golden. This recipe will be going up before Christmas. I hope she shares with me! 




cake

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday To My Son!

8:11 PM

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I just finished this cake for my son, Austin. He might think it sucks that his birthday is on Thanksgiving but I for one and super thankful for him, so it seems only fitting.

I made this cake for him. Chocolate overload surrounded by pocky and topped with his favorite---Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Recipe coming this weekend!


bread

Made It/Loved It: Real Mom Kitchen's 30 Minute Dinner Rolls

6:15 PM


One of the things I look for when searching recipes on line is how many people actually tried it and if they liked it.  That is one of the reasons why I post when I try a recipe from someone else or even adapted from someone else. I want to be helpful and let them know how it was for me. Well, today I have another hit that is quick, easy and simple : Dinner Rolls found at Real Mom Kitchen.


Of course, I have made it no secret that I love bread. I made two dozen of these today and tonight ending up having to make two dozen more because my kids had INHALED them all at dinner time. When the kids did not leave so much as a bread crumb, this mama knew this was a winner.

And it is so easy!  So if you are looking for a quick and easy dinner roll recipe to make for Thanksgiving, give these a try. These have already been added to my recipe book for my kids.



bread

Made It/Loved It: Farmgirl Gourmet's Honey Challah

9:18 PM


Hi. My name is Divian and I am a breadaholic.

I love bread. I am one of those people who firmly believes that a sandwich is only as good as the bread you make it with. I always go for rolls and baked loaves instead of the typical sandwich bread.



Although I love bread, I am no baker. I can bake a mean biscuit but hey, I am in the South and biscuits are easy. Imagine the thrill (and apprehension) I felt when I decided that I wanted to learn how to make homemade bread.  I tried the artisan crusty bread first....needs tweaking. Then I came across this bread....from Farmgirl Gourmet.



It looked amazing. Could I make it? Could I get it to look like hers? Would it taste good? I was going to try and try I did.



Although it does not look like hers believe me it tastes AMAZING. Everyone who tried it said they did not need anything to go with it...they were tearing into it like wolves! The first batch was gone in minutes. Today I made two more loaves and I had to fight everyone off.

Seriously....it is just that good. A slightly sweet white bread that is not dry and is just heaven in your mouth.



I would definitely recommend anyone who is interested in breadmaking to try this recipe from Farmgirl. I have already decided this will be on the Thanksgiving table.

I have a bit more practice so that I can get that smooth and noncracking top, but hey even though it is a bit ugly, it tastes like I went to school for this stuff lol


Also, google Challah and read up on the symbolism of the bread. Definitely interesting and makes it even sweeter.

entertaining

Thanksgiving Tablescape

8:21 PM



Last month, I was able to work with Town and Gown magazine here in my hometown alongside, Thyme to create this tablescape. I am far from an interior decorator or event planner but I love how I was able to bring what I saw in my mind to life on the table. It was a great experience to be able to work with the store and choose what I needed. They were SO accomodating and helpful!




If you are in the Starkville area and looking for high quality and unique items for hosting and entertaining, please stop by and tell them Divian sent you. They are an amazing group of ladies with such fantastically beautiful pieces!




I went with a rustic silver look and I loved it.





Brisket Eggs Benedict...

8:06 PM





I had never had eggs benedict.  It is one of those dishes that I am familiar with seeing over and over again online but something about the poached egg turned me off. It was not until about a year ago that I actually started to appreciate and enjoy eggs sunny side up.

Eggs Benedict is one of those dishes that I always felt was the epitome of  having brunch at a fancy restaurant.  Maybe that is why I have never attempted to make it but I thought, today, why not and why not use a nice smoked bbq brisket instead of the traditional ham. 

To make this process easy, I used Sadler's BBQ Brisket...I found it at WalMart. It is already cooked and sliced. It is a bit pricey, but so worth it because the taste is amazingly good!

It looks like this:

Of course, if you are like my mom, you can bbq or smoke your own brisket. My mom makes a killer brisket for holidays. 

I started by just warming my slices of brisket in a pan.

I also tasted my english muffins in the drippings left by the brisket (which is not a lot). 




Now...poaching an egg....this is the part that actually intimidated me. I had never poached eggs before and really thought is was going to be some difficult process, but you know what...it was so easy!

You will need to use fresh eggs.  If your egg is not fresh, once you drop it in the water, it will look like you are making egg drop soup.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it begins boiling, lower the heat to medium/medium low.  Add one cap of vinegar (this keeps egg whites together) and a tsp of salt. stir and once the water has lowered from boiling, drop in your egg. If a few strands break away, don't worry, you can scoop them out. Once the whites turn well, white, you can use a stirring spoon to turn the egg. You want to cook the egg for 7 minutes.  Remove from water. 


For the hollandaise sauce, I used this recipe found over at She Knows... I followed the steps precisely and was very happy with the results. If you want to make this even easier, you can purchase Knorr Hollandaise Mix at your grocery store. I have not tried it but I know Knorr makes awesome sauces and seasoning mixes.

Once your sauce is done, assemble your brisket eggs benedict. These were absolutely delicious and I will be making these again very soon and they will be at my next brunch with friends and family. 





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